Charmed 1. Default Chapter

Godsmacked A Charmed/Buffy crossover By JewWitch 

**Summary**: Paige & Phoebe get a premonition about some witches that need their help in Sunnydale to defeat a certain hell-goddess…This story takes place in S5 of Buffy, and S3 of Charmed, after my story "Charmed & Dangerous" which you might want to read first to know what's going on. Basically, Prue never died, and Paige is Phoebe's girlfriend, not a sister. Also in my Buffy world, Faith came back good in S4 and has been hanging around ever since.

**Pairings**: Phoebe/Paige, Willow/Tara, w/ the possibility of others to come (Prue?)

**Spoilers**: There will be general spoilers for Buffy S5, and from the Charmed episode "Oh My Goddess."

**Rating: R**

Tara sat alone on a bench at the Sunnydale World Culture Fair, staring into space while silent tears ran down her cheeks. The fight she'd just had with Willow was fresh in her mind, and it stung with a raw newness that made her heart feel as if it had been dragged across the pavement. They had never fought before. Not once, in over a year. She had only said what she said because she was worried that Willow was getting in over her head with her magic…and Willow had somehow interpreted that as an attack on their relationship. As if Tara didn't believe that Willow truly loved her; didn't believe her girlfriend to be a "real" lesbian, and therefore couldn't be trusted. What on earth would make Willow think such a thing? Didn't she know that Tara was completely devoted to her? Tara was so lost in thought, she didn't notice the woman who sat beside her until a warm hand grasped her own. Eyes still lost in the distance, Tara felt a smile pull at her lips. _Willow_, she thought happily. Then the hand holding hers squeezed painfully hard. Tara gasped, her head jerking around, to find herself staring into the cold blue eyes of a hell-goddess.

"Hello, darling," Glory purred.

Hundreds of miles north, on a nearly deserted beach south of San Francisco, another witch lay kissing her white lighter girlfriend in the sand. The afternoon sun was warm on their bare skin, and both were completely relaxed in each other's arms.

"You taste so good," Phoebe murmured into Paige's open mouth, making her girlfriend giggle huskily.

"You're the only one who gets to taste me," Paige purred back, her hands running up and down Phoebe's back teasingly. "So feel free to have as much as you want."

"Ooooh, lucky me," Phoebe growled, rolling Paige playfully onto her back and straddling her hips. They kissed with renewed passion, the intensity mounting between them as Paige reached up and untied Phoebe's bikini top, sitting up with Phoebe now in her lap, to lavish attention on the tightening nipples.

"Oh, fuck, Paige!" Phoebe cried out, and they both lifted slightly off the sand, levitating a foot or more into the air as their passion swept over them. Suddenly, Paige gasped, and they both fell back to the sand with a thud that knocked the wind out of them.

"Ooof!" Phoebe groaned, looking up to see Paige's tense expression, eyes closed. She remained respectfully silent, arms wrapped reassuringly around her trembling girlfriend, until the premonition passed and her dark eyes slowly opened.

"What did you see, honey?" Phoebe asked gently.

"Oh god," Paige muttered, casting around in the sand for her clothes. There was a bit of seaweed tangled in her long, dark hair.

"Paige?" Phoebe asked again. "You're scaring me, baby. Talk to me, okay? What did you see?"

"Phoebe, I gotta go," Paige said distractedly as she pulled her shirt over her head without bothering to brush the sand off. "I'll explain later, I promise—but I gotta go now." Paige gave her startled girlfriend a quick, hard kiss on the lips, orbing out as soon as their lips parted. Phoebe blinked, unsure what to do next. A few seconds later, she was slammed with a premonition of her own.

"Just…tell…me…where…the…key…is," Glory said in a slow, quiet, deceptively calm voice. The bone-crushing grip on Tara's hand let her know that the evil creature beside her was anything but calm. Tears sprang to her eyes as the felt, and heard, the bones in her hand breaking. It sounded like a bowl of rice krispies, she thought in a detached way, as hot blood dripped from her fingers. She bit her lip as hard as she could, drawing more blood as she forced herself not to cry out. She refused to raise an alarm; anyone who came running to her aid would be killed instantly, and Tara refused to have any more deaths on her head. She looked back stonily into the eyes of death, lips pressed stubbornly together.

"Well, I suppose you'll just have to do as an afternoon stack instead," Glory purred. As she spoke, she reached out her hands on either side of Tara's head, preparing to suck out her sanity. Tara closed her eyes, sending out a silent, final prayer that Willow would forgive her for dying before they could make up.

"Is this a private moment? Or can anybody show off their powers in public?" Unable to believe her ears, Tara opened her eyes in shock.

"P-p-paige!" she stuttered. "What are you--?"

"Talk later, Tar," Paige said in a quiet, steely voice. "Escape now!" And with that, she grabbed Tara's uninjured hand, and they both dissolved in a haze of white lights.

"Hey!" Glory yelled, jumping to her feet indignantly. "I wasn't done with my snack!"

A moment later, the two figures re-appeared in a large, open room filled with weapons and training equipment. Tara looked around in a daze.

"How…how did we get to the m-magic shop…" Tara gasped, eyes wide.

"Just relax, Tara, everything's okay, I promise…let's just take care of you first, and I'll explain everything." With that, Paige reached out and put her hands over Tara's crumpled one, which immediately began to glow. Tara stared, transfixed, as the blood disappeared, an incredible warmth suffusing her. She knew she must be imagining it, but…she thought she could actually _feel_ her bones mending. Finally, the glowing light died away, and Tara looked up at Paige, speechless. Paige just grinned at her, a faint blush coloring her cheeks. Then, two rough hands grabbed Paige from behind, twisting her wrists painfully and slamming her up against the wall.

"Ow!" Paige yelped, immediately orbing out of the unforgiving grip and re-appearing behind Tara. Looking over the blonde's shoulder, she scowled at the dark-eyed, leather-clad girl still poised to attack her.

"Ease up, butch. I'm one of the good guys, okay? Jeez!" Paige glared, rubbing her neck indignantly.

"Oh yeah?" The tough girl snarled. "What the hell were you doing to Tara?"

"I was _healing_ her!" Paige snapped. "A courtesy I might not extend to you if you don't back off right now." They continued to glare at each other.

"Faith, it's okay," Tara said gently. Paige was still half-hiding behind her, one hand gripping her shoulder, and Tara placed her own hand reassuringly over it. Faith saw this irrefutable expression of comfort and trust, and faltered slightly.

"Paige is a friend, she won't hurt us," Tara assured the tense slayer.

"Yeah, okay," Faith groused, relaxing and kicking at the floor with her steel-toed boots. "Just doing my job." Paige rolled her eyes.

"Tara, please don't tell me you're dating this walking hard-on," Paige said drolly.

"Hey!" Faith cried indignantly. Tara looked at her with one eyebrow raised, in a well-you-know-you-are kind of way.

"No Paige, Faith and I are just friends." She looked between the two of them, and decided that since she had absolutely no idea what was going on, she might as well be the first to offer some information.

"Paige," She said, turning between her two friends, "this is Faith. She's a slayer." Paige's eyes lit with recognition.

"A vampire slayer? Cool, we read about you in the Book of Shadows." Faith looked at Paige, perplexed.

"Um, ok…" Tara shook her head to clear the ever-mounting confusion from it. "Faith, this is Paige. She's, well, sort of a guardian angel…and, um, my ex-girlfriend." Tara blushed slightly, smiling up at Paige, who grinned easily back. Faith whistled.

"Nice catch, T." Paige rolled her eyes.

"You're such a pig, Faith," Tara said, though she couldn't hide the affectionate grin that accompanied these words. Then she turned to Paige, eyes as curious as ever.

"Whatever," Faith grinned back, with a wink for Paige, who just shook her head. "So you gonna tell me what happened now, T? Or do I gotta wait for more hot girls from your past to show up?"

"Um, I'm not really sure what happened myself, except that Paige saved me from Glory," Tara said slowly, smiling warmly at the dark-haired girl who was now shaking sand out of her top. "I can't believe I haven't even said thank you yet," she added.

"You don't have to thank me, Tar. I'm just glad I got there in time."

"But how did you--?" Tara began, an utterly perplexed expression on her face.

"I got a premonition…saw you in trouble."

"Since when do you get premonitions?" Tara asked, looking, if anything, more confused. "And, the healing? How did that happen?"

"A lot's changed since high school," Paige shrugged, failing to hide the smirk that came to her face as thoughts of Phoebe invaded her mind. "The short version is…my girlfriend's a witch, a Charmed One actually, and we've been, um, sharing our powers for a while now. And, I sorta came into my full powers as a white lighter, so now I can heal…we both can. The premonitions are Phoebe's." Tara just stared at Paige, her jaw hanging open.

"Man," Faith whistled. "How many super-girls can this town take?"

"Funny, now that you mention it…where are we, exactly?" Paige asked politely.

"This is Mr. Giles' magic shop, he's our—" Tara began, but Paige shook her head.

"No, I mean…what town is this? Are we, um, still in California?" Paige shifted her gaze from Tara to Faith nervously.

"You can orb somewhere without knowing where it is?" Tara asked, impressed. "Wow, your orbing has really improved!"

"Yeah, it's mostly since I met Phoebe," Paige admitted. As if she'd uttered a summoning charm, a new field of shimmering white lights appeared in the room, and two more figures appeared, a small but powerful dark haired girl, and a young teen clinging to her in terror.

"Dawnie!" Tara exclaimed, running to the terrified young girl. Blood was running from a cut on her forehead.

"You're okay, sweetie. Let me see," Phoebe cooed gently to the trembling girl, tilting her face up to the light. By the time Tara reached her, the cut was gone.

"I'll take a wild guess and say you're Phoebe?" Faith said lazily, eyeing the new addition.

"Hi baby," Paige said happily, pulling Phoebe into her arms. "Are you okay?"

"Fine," Phoebe said with a wave of her hand. "I'm gonna assume, since you're here and I'm here, that we both had premonitions about the same evil bitch?"

"Blonde?" Paige asked. "Badly permed? Hijacked Madonna's wardrobe from the early 90's?"

"Glory," Faith said grimly.

"What's going on?" Dawn asked in a shrill, slightly hysterical voice.

"Dawnie, sweetie, everything's just fine, okay?" Tara said soothingly. "She's not going to lay a finger on you, I promise. Paige and Phoebe are here to help us now. Why don't you go get Buffy and bring her back here?" Dawn looked to Phoebe, as if asking her rescuer for permission to leave.

"Go ahead, honey," Phoebe said gently. "We'll figure this all out, I promise." Dawn nodded, and slipped through the door toward the front of the store.

"You sure charmed the pants off the kid," Faith observed. "She's not usually one for following orders." Phoebe cocked her head at the choice of words.

"It's okay, Pheebs. They know who you are," Paige explained, her hand warm and reassuring on Phoebe's back.

"They know?" Phoebe looked at Paige apprehensively. "What do they know?"

"I know that the hellmouth attracts almost as many hotties as it does demons," Faith remarked flippantly.

"Ignore her," Paige said with a roll of her eyes. "She's got toxic jock syndrome." Faith just smirked. "Oh! Tara, this is my gorgeous and brilliant girlfriend, Phoebe Halliwell." Phoebe smirked at Paige, but reached for Tara's hand in a friendly greeting.

"Pheebs, this is Tara Maclay, my ex from high school." Paige smiled as the two women said hello to each other.

"Wait a sec…" Phoebe trailed off, looking at Paige significantly. "Tara? Her name is Tara?" Paige backed up slightly, blinking nervously at her fire-eyed girlfriend. "As in, our daughter's namesake? You want to name our kid after your _ex?_"

"You…you guys are having a baby?" Tara gasped.

"No, honey," Paige shook her head, grinning at her fuming girlfriend, and completely ignoring everyone else around them. "We're not naming her after my ex, we're naming her after the goddess of infinite compassion, remember? Which, if you think about it, she already was before, so technically we're naming her after herself."

"Say that again?" Faith gaped at them in confusion.

"Don't freak, we're not having her now," Paige said with a wave of her hands. "Long story, anyway. Prophecies, you know."

"Yeah, actually we do," Tara nodded. "We've got a few of our own on our hands, actually."


	2. The Scoobies Meet the Charmed Ones

Godsmacked 

A Charmed/Buffy Crossover

By JewWitch

Chapter 2

Author's note: Sorry for the long delay! My muse was on vacation…but she brought me back some lovely Jamaican rum, so I had to forgive her. Thanks to everyone who sent reviews! On with the show!

Tara was in the midst of trying to explain to Paige and Phoebe the basic essence of their problem with Glory. How she was a hell god who was kicked out of her own dimension by her fellow demon deities, and she was now after Buffy's little sister Dawn, who wasn't even really a little sister at all, but an ancient ball of energy called only "the key" which had been formless for millennia, and would allow Glory access to other dimensions, with the unfortunate side effect of crumbling all the dividing walls between realities and plunging the universe into chaos. Only recently, an order of monks sworn to fight Glory (or "the beast" as they called her) had made the key into a human girl named Dawn, and sent her to the slayer for protection.

"So basically," Phoebe piped up when Tara stopped to draw breath, "this Glory chick is seriously bad news and requires a magical smackdown."

"It's a good thing we're here then, cause we happen to have some expertise in the hell-goddess arena," Paige remarked flippantly, with a wink for Phoebe, who gave her an adoring smile. Tara looked away, blushing at even this chaste show of affection. She wished Willow were here. She wished they weren't fighting so she could take comfort in the redhead, the way Phoebe and Paige took comfort from each other. The training room door opened then, but it wasn't Willow who walked through. The entire tenor of the room changed in an instant, as all eyes turned to the blonde who strode forward in a powerful state of agitation. Neither Phoebe nor Paige needed to be told that this was Buffy; there was a chemical shift in the air as all the assembled Scooby gang recognized their alpha dog.

"What happened? Is everyone all right? Dawn said Glory attacked her."

"It's all five by five, B," Faith assured her. Paige noticed the subtle, but palpable shift fall over the dark slayer as her counterpart entered the room. In one smooth motion, an almost invisible shift to the set of her shoulders, she went from smooth-talking, easygoing player to no-nonsense slayer.

"Tara's witchy buds here showed up an' saved the day. Bought us some time to regroup, anyway." Buffy looked from Faith, to the new arrivals, who were giving each other the customary quizzical expression as they pondered the meaning of Faith's favorite expression.

"Um…" Paige raised her hand slightly, as if she were sitting in class. "Five what by five what?"

"That's just Faith's way of saying it's all good," Buffy explained succinctly, her attention now focused on the two dark-haired women before her. "So, which one of you saved my sister's ass?"

"Hi." Phoebe gave Buffy a small wave. "Phoebe here."

"Thank you, Phoebe." Buffy's hazel eyes were fixed on the small witch; Phoebe could see an ocean of warring emotions clashing in her gaze, but all were tightly contained. Phoebe thought she could see a little bit of Prue peeking out from the slayer's eyes; an older sister fighting a world of evil to keep her little sister safe.

"It's, um, _five by five_," Phoebe assured her, noticing Faith's smirk out of the corner of her eye. "I've got sisters, too." The still-smirking dark slayer gave another appreciative whistle.

"Single sisters?" Phoebe chose not to dignify that particular question with a response. Tara, however, gave her a rather withering glare.

"Can you keep it in your pants for five minutes, Faith? We need to figure out what we're gonna do before Glory comes back."

"Well," Paige ventured hesitantly, "I'm not exactly the captain of this ship, but it seems to me that if she's coming here, the best thing for us to do is be elsewhere."

"Us?" Tara raised an eyebrow at her ex-girlfriend.

"Well, Phoebe and I got those premonitions for a reason, Tar. We're supposed to help. Besides, this is what we do…right baby?" The last part was addressed to Phoebe. But Phoebe appeared distracted, gazing up at the ceiling with her head cocked as if listening to something only she could hear.

"Does she have, like, supersonic hearing or something?" Dawn asked, gazing at Phoebe wide-eyed.

"No, it's part of our power," Paige explained patiently. "It's how we get to you if you need us…you just call, and we can hear you, and orb wherever you are."

"Cool!" Dawn grinned, still gazing at Phoebe with a star-struck expression on her face.

"My sisters are calling," Phoebe finally said, shaking her head as if coming out of a trance.

"You go ahead, I'll take care of the Partridge family here," Paige gesticulated to the motley crew around her.

"'Kay," Phoebe smiled up at Paige and, wrapping her arms around her girlfriend's neck, kissed her for all she was worth.

"Be careful," Paige murmured.

"Always," Phoebe agreed, as she disappeared from Paige's arms in a haze of white lights. Dawn stared open-mouthed. She had never seen Willow and Tara kiss like that. She'd always just assumed that lesbians were shy as a general rule.

"Okay!" Paige clapped her hands together. "Let's get you all out of here, yeah?"

"Whoa, wait a minute." Buffy held out her hand. "We can't just let you put yourselves in danger like this. I'm the slayer; I'm supposed to be the one doing the protecting."

"They wanna help, B," Faith pointed out. "This slayer says, bring it on."

"And they already saved Dawnie and me," Tara added somewhat timidly.

"Exactly!" Buffy exclaimed. "More than enough danger for you for one day." She made shooing motions at Paige with her hands.

"Look, Phoebe and her sisters have been protecting innocents for years, they know what they're doing. We can really help you here, Buffy."

"We are _not_ innocents!" Buffy exploded.

"Geez, B, unclench for a minute why dontcha? I'm with angel-girl on this one. As much as I hate to admit it, the traditional ass-kicking method hasn't worked with this one…maybe a magical approach is just what we need. I mean, between the Charmed Ones, angel-girl here, and red and blondie, we kinda got that corner solid…ya know?" There was a tense silence between the two slayers.

"Fine," Buffy conceded tersely. "Let's get out of here then."

"We n-need to get Willow first," Tara blushed at the stutter that crept into her voice. It hardly ever surfaced anymore, except when she was feeling nervous or out of sorts.

"Of course we're getting Will," Buffy nodded at the blonde witch. "And Xander and Anya, too." Looking to Paige, she asked, "Can you, um, stop to pick somebody up or whatever?"

"No problem, Cap'n." Paige gave Buffy a brisk salute, making Dawn giggle despite the severity of the situation. "Everyone ready? Grab somebody's hand."

"I _knew_ this was gonna turn into some big love-fest sooner of later," Faith groused.

Two stops and many questions, complaints, and explanations later, the entire group had arrived safely at the manor.

"Wow," Dawn breathed in awe as she looked around the sunroom. "This is your house?"

"Not mine," Paige corrected the teen, "It belongs to Phoebe and her sisters. It's been in their family for three generations."

"Doesn't exactly look like a great place for demon battles," Buffy observed, immediately scoping out the layout for strengths and weaknesses.

"You'd be surprised," said Prue as she came into the room. "We've vanquished over a hundred demons here…and that's just on the first floor." The Scooby gang stood speechless, staring at the imposing brunette with the penetrating blue eyes.

"_Vanquished_," Dawn murmured under her breath. "Cool."

"So," Prue continued, turning her attention to Paige, "Phoebe tells us we've got a serious demon situation on our hands here."

"Got that right." Faith stepped to the front of the group. "We've thrown everything we've got at this bitch, an' she just keeps coming."

"I'm sorry," Prue said in a no-nonsense, I'm-in-command voice. "You are?"

"Oh," Paige shook her head, "where are my manners? Prue, this is Faith." She gestured at the dark-haired slayer. "And, this is Buffy…they're the Vampire Slayers."

"I thought there was only one slayer?" Prue remarked with a frown.

"Long story," the two slayers said in unison.

"Um, right…" Paige shrugged. "Anyway, this is Tara, Willow, Xander, Anya, and Dawn. They all fight evil down in Sunnydale, just like us."

"Not like you, angel-girl," Faith said flatly. "We live on the Hellmouth. It ain't no rainbow parade on the Castro."

"Whatever," Paige dismissed the sullen slayer with a roll of her eyes. Then, to Prue, "Where's Pheebs?"

"Upstairs with Piper, trying to figure out sleeping arrangements for all our guests. Some of them can crash down here on the couches, but the rest will have to bunk up in the attic." Prue cocked her head thoughtfully. "Actually, that's probably the safest place in the house, with the Book of Shadows for protection."

Tara gasped. The Charmed Ones' Book of Shadows…she couldn't believe it was right upstairs. She glanced at Willow, who was looking back at her wide-eyed.

"Tara, Willow, why don't you come up to the attic with me?" It was as if Paige had read their minds. "You can help the magical strategy session, and meet super-witch #3."

"We usually call her Piper," Prue added wryly, grinning at Paige with a sisterly affection. Tara couldn't help but notice how close Paige was with her girlfriend's sisters, and felt a smile spread across her face. She was happy for her ex-girlfriend; after so much time alone in the world, she deserved to have a loving family—just like she herself had found with Willow and the Scoobies.

"Oh," Willow squeaked excitedly, "we'd love to help, as long as you're sure we're not intruding or anything, cause, you know, big magic, not just for any old Joe off the street, not that we're not up to it of course, but—"

"Will, breathe," Tara said gently, laying a hand on her girlfriend's back as the babblefest was cut abruptly short. Paige and Prue were looking bemusedly at the red-haired witch, who grinned apologetically back.

"Sorry," she said sheepishly. "I babble."

"Really? Hadn't noticed." Paige said glibly.

"Oh, come on, Paige, you know you babble worse than that when you get into your stride," Prue teased, poking her in the ribs.

"Yeah, she always did," Tara nodded. "Remember the first time we went to the dyke march, and saw the Lesbian Avengers eat fire? I swear I thought you were gonna swallow your tongue." Paige blushed while everyone else laughed. Willow smiled uncomfortably, looking at her shoes. She got the feeling that Tara's ex had a wild streak in her, one that Tara had obviously enjoyed. Was she missing that now?

"Okay," Prue broke in, smoothly regaining command of the group. "Paige, you take the witch crew upstairs; everyone else, come with me to the basement for sleeping bags."

"Can I go up to the attic with you guys?" Dawn asked Tara eagerly. "I wanna see the Book of Shadows!" Tara looked to Paige, who studied Dawn pensively for a moment.

"You know that magic is serious business," she said quietly. "It's not a theme park."

"I know," Dawn nodded, biting her lip. "That's why I want to learn as much as I can, so I can be as good as Willow and Tara some day, and you and Phoebe, and protect people." The young teen looked up at Paige with wide, beseeching eyes.

"All right, ya little brown-noser, come on."

_"Yesss!"_ Dawn hissed under her breath, darting up the stairs.

The group arrived in the attic to find Phoebe and Piper setting up cots and laying out pillows and blankets. Between the six of them, the job was quickly finished, making time for a long look at the book. By the time Prue hollered up to them to come down to dinner, they had found a slew of possibilities for taking on Glory, each as flawed as the next. Still, they all felt encouraged by the headway they had made, as it was more than they'd had in the months they'd been fighting the hell-goddess.

"So," Dawn said to Paige as the book was closed, "you and Tara met in high school?"

"Sure did," Paige confirmed, grinning saucily at the shy blond. "Took me months to get more than two words out of her, of course." Tara blushed, remembering how painfully shy she had been back then, even more so than she was now.

"I was lucky to even be able to open my mouth around you," Tara admitted with a shake of her head. "You were so cool, and I had such an awful crush!" Dawn grinned, eager to learn more about Tara's life before she'd met them.

"How did you figure out that you were both, you know, magical?" This innocent question caused a deep blush to rise in Tara's cheeks, while Paige grinned and looked at the floor.

"Ohhh…" Dawn looked between them and rolled her eyes. "This is something kinky I'm not supposed to hear, right?"

"No, no. No kink," Paige assured the young girl, as Phoebe came up and wrapped a possessive arm around her girlfriend's waist, which Paige automatically leaned into. "It's, um…just that when two people who have a lot of magical power get together, there tends to be…um…floating."

"What?" Phoebe looked at Paige with an outraged expression. "I thought that was just our thing!"

"You floated before me?" Willow asked Tara in a hurt voice.

"Uh-oh," Dawn murmured.


	3. Trouble in Paradise

Godsmacked—Chapter 3

By JewWitch

All The Usual Disclaimers Apply

Hi everybody—

As always, thanks for all the groovy feedback. After watching tonight's finale, I am a little emotional, so prepare for a moderate angst warning. But as I'm sure you've all realized by now, I am a happy ending girl, so have no fear for our lovely heroines—it'll all be good for them. Happy reading :)

Ps—

Paige Halliwell—Yes I was talking about you, and I still don't get why you don't like Phoebe—Alyssa Milano was the reason I started watching _Charmed_ in the first place! I've had a crush on her ever since seeing her on _Who's the Boss_ when I was little. But, I am still glad you are seeing a new side of her through my POV. And the name "JewWitch" just seemed appropriate for the circles I travel in (I've also posted some _Buffy_ fic, surprise surprise), as I am a Jewish girl who has Wiccan inclinations. Make sense?

PowerOf4—Keep your eyes open, and you may see something soon in response to your request for a certain pairing in the sequel…

Lil miss paige—glad I can be the one to provide you with a quality slash fic :)

And to everyone else who reviewed, keep it coming! I do love feedback, but it seems silly to reply to each individually when they all say basically the same thing (ie, "good story, update soon.") if you ask a specific question, I will try to answer it; otherwise, please accept my thanks for general feedback! On with the show!

Prue looked across the pile of pizzas on the table to the four witches who had just returned from the attic. They had answered all her questions mechanically, avoiding eye contact with one another, and immediately lapsed into silence. She exchanged a confused glance with Piper, who shrugged. Phoebe was cutting her pizza into tiny pieces. Paige was playing with the straw in her soda. Dawn was biting her lip and glancing back and forth between them, and Willow and Tara as well.

"Okay," Prue finally exclaimed, "what the hell is up with you guys?"

"It's nothing," Phoebe said flatly. "Nothing we're discussing here, anyway." She didn't look up from her plate when she spoke.

"Phoebe, you're making too much of this, really," Paige said in a placating voice.

"You don't get to decide that," Phoebe snapped, finally looking up to give Paige a withering glare that would burn a hole in lesser mortals. Paige sat back slightly, as if flinching from a physical threat. Then she pushed back from the table, and wordlessly left the room, her eyes growing bright with tears.

_"Dammit,"_ Phoebe hissed under her breath as she stood and stomped after her girlfriend. Everyone at the table exchanged uneasy looks over their pizza.

"What's this all about, Tara?" Prue addressed Paige's ex, the only one who didn't look utterly bewildered.

"It's just personal stuff," Tara said quietly. "They have to work it out on their own." This last part she said directly to Willow, who sighed, and gave her girlfriend a weak smile across the table. Then they too stood and exited the kitchen, hand in hand.

"What the fu—" Prue's statement was cut off by Piper's hand over her mouth, raising her eyebrow and looking meaningfully at Dawn.

"…Fudge," Prue finished lamely as Piper removed her hand, "is going on here, Dawn?"

"Uhhh…" Dawn looked between the two sisters, and Xander and Anya, who were also leaning in with concerned looks on their faces. "Well, I guess we've all entered into this…kind of…witchy-lesbo drama zone," Dawn finished lamely. She glanced around uncertainly as all their faces shifted to some form of understanding.

"Ohhhh…" Piper muttered. "Good lord."

"See, this is why my _get some, get gone_ philosophy never dies," Faith said flippantly around a bite of pizza. "Women are freakin' high maintenance."

"For someone without a cock, you sure are a dick, Faith," Prue said scathingly, as she threw down her napkin and glared at the unrepentant slayer across the table.

"Drama-free zone, ice queen," Faith said casually, drawing an invisible perimeter around herself with a finger covered in pizza sauce. Prue simply reached through the invisible barrier and smacked Faith upside the head. Dawn snorted with laughter.

"Do not walk away from me, Paige," Phoebe growled as she finally caught up with her in the bedroom.

"I don't know what you want me to say here, Phoebe," Paige said in a tight voice, crossing her arms defensively across her chest. "What? You want to hear that you're the only girl I've ever been with? News flash, you already knew I wasn't a virgin."

"This is _not_ about sex!" Phoebe yelled. "You lied to me! I thought it was special between us, Paige!"

"It _is_ special!" Paige gasped. "How can you even say that?"

"I define special as unique, as in, never before been experienced."

"I cannot believe I'm hearing this," Paige said with a shake of her head. "The fact that we have magic, floaty sex is not what makes this special, Phoebe. And the fact that I had it with Tara does not make it the same. Witches and whitelighters have complimentary magic. That is all."

"Then how come Leo and Piper have never floated?" Phoebe challenged icily.

"I don't know!" Paige threw up her hands. "Maybe it's just a girl thing! What difference does it make?"

"It makes all the difference," Phoebe yelled. She knew in the back of her mind that she was acting a little crazy…she wasn't a screamer; she was usually the one making things better in a fight, not worse. But the idea of Paige with Tara, doing things she'd always thought had been only theirs…well, it made her a little crazy.

"Look," Paige said a quiet voice, which nonetheless quavered with anger. "We both have a past. You dated a demon; I dated a witch. I've never been with a boy, but it doesn't bother me that you have. If you're feeling insecure because I've had experiences you haven't, then you better deal, cause I am not about to apologize. Not to you, not to anyone."

"So how many girls _have_ you floated with, then?" Phoebe could feel Paige's anger swirling around with her own inside her, and underneath it, a deepening hurt. It was like wrenching off a scab, and Phoebe took a savage pleasure in her next words. "What number notch am I on the headboard, Paige?"

"Screw you, Phoebe," Paige said quietly. The anger in her eyes had melted away, leaving only bright pain as a tear slipped down her cheek. As Paige's protective armor of anger gave way to the hurt, Phoebe felt her own desire to lash out drain away, too. As if she'd just come out of a trance, she saw—and felt—the love coming from Paige, and the overwhelming pain. They were intertwined, the one surging out of the other.

"Oh, god…baby," Phoebe whispered, reaching out for Paige's hand. But her fingers dissolved from Phoebe's grasp.

"Paige, wait!" Phoebe cried frantically, but it was too late—Paige had orbed out. What was worse, Phoebe couldn't sense where she had gone. It was as if someone had unscrewed a tap in the bottom of her foot, and the part of Paige that was inside her had drained away. She tried to orb after her, and couldn't.

"Leo!" Phoebe cried, as she broke down and sobbed.

"Are we gonna fight again?" Willow asked in a small voice as she entered the sunroom just behind Tara. "Cause, I really don't want to."

"I don't want to either, honey," Tara said quietly. "Does it bother you to know I dated someone else with powers before you?"

"I…" Willow started to say. She wanted to say no, but ever since the epiphany in the attic, she'd felt the insecurity mounting within her. Paige was beautiful, she was smart, and she was incredibly powerful. _Way more powerful than me_, Willow thought as she stared back into her girlfriend's questing blue eyes.

"Was it better? With her?" Willow finally asked, forcing herself to hold Tara's eyes.

"Oh, honey…" Tara sighed. She took both of Willow's hands in hers. "Paige and I had fun together…we taught each other all the things you learn when you're sixteen and in love. All the things you learned with Oz," she added, reminding Willow unnecessarily of her own first love. "She helped me be ready for the real thing when I found you." One of Tara's hands released Willow's, cupping her cheek as they stared into each other's eyes, hiding nothing. "If you're asking me who I want to be with, Willow, the answer is you…always."

"You mean…?" Willow asked shyly, a huge grin spreading over her face.

"I mean," Tara affirmed, leaning in to give Willow the gentlest of kisses. Then they both heard Phoebe's scream.

A moment later, the entire house was on demon alert as Leo, Prue, Piper, Faith, Willow and Tara all collided at the doorway to Phoebe's room. After hearing the youngest Halliwell's scream, they were expecting to find a bloody battle underway, not a crying girl curled up in the middle of the bed. When they realized the demonic threat had been a false alarm, they all looked at each other awkwardly.

"We'll go tell X-man and Anya to stand down," Faith said with a glance to her fellow Scoobies, who followed her wordlessly from the room. Piper, Prue and Leo remained behind, all finding a seat on the bed. Piper put out a hand and stroked Phoebe's hair.

"What happened, sweetie?" She asked gently.

"Stupid," Phoebe's muffled voice came from behind the pillow. "Idiot."

"C'mon, Pheebs," Prue quietly urged, pulling her little sister upright and wiping away her tears soothingly. "Take a breath…tell us what's wrong." Phoebe gulped.

"I said…really horrible things. Stupid things, things I didn't mean. I just lost my mind when I found out…well, I found out that Paige did stuff with Tara…I thought, um…I thought she'd never done before me." Looking suddenly to Piper and Leo, she asked, "You guys have never had floaty sex, right?"

"Ohhhh…" Piper sighed, as Leo mouthed wordlessly. He had never enjoyed this particular aspect of the job.

"No, Phoebe, that's a blessing from the goddess Artemis," Leo finally said, as all eyes turned to him in surprise.

"Huh?" Prue gaped in confusion.

"What she said," Piper added.

"It's a gift bestowed by her upon her children…to remind them that they are vessels of her power."

"Lesbian magic, Leo?" Prue asked incredulously.

"Not necessarily _lesbian_," Leo shrugged. "Goddesses aren't really into labels, you know. Just…women in love. Mortal women have her blessing, too, but when you add magic to the mix, you get, uhh…" Leo trailed off, reddening again. Piper grinned at her bashful husband, charmed by his fatherly awkwardness with her little sister.

"Magic, floaty sex," Phoebe finished. "Oh, god, I can't believe I told her it wasn't special anymore."

"You _what?"_ Prue admonished. She had come to care for Paige as another sister, and as Phoebe well knew, nobody hurt Prue's little sisters and got away with it. "Phoebe, how could you say such a thing? How could you even think it? That girl is completely devoted to you; any fool can see it!"

"I'm not so sure that's true anymore," Phoebe said quietly, her tears still flowing freely as she looked down at the floor. "Our connection…it's gone."

"Gone?" Piper probed, one hand resting on Phoebe's back in a gesture of reassurance as she tried to understand what her sister was telling them. "What do you mean, gone?"

"Gone, as in, no longer there," Phoebe said in a tight voice, trying to compose herself through her tears. "As in, no more sensing her, no more power-sharing. I can't orb. I don't know where she is. I don't know if she's okay." Her voice broke as she began to cry again. "Leo, tell me she's okay," Phoebe begged her brother-in-law. All eyes went to Leo as he went into the slight trance that allowed him to sense his charges.

"She's not in any danger, Phoebe," he said finally after a few moments of tense silence.

"Where is she?" Phoebe asked urgently, wiping her eyes.

"It's not my place to get in the middle of this," Leo said with a shake of his head. "You lost your connection for a reason…I think we should respect her boundaries right now."

"Leo, please!" Phoebe begged. "I fucked everything up, and I need to make it right. I have to find her!"

"If you really want to make it right, you have to find her with love, Pheebs. Not magic." It was Piper who spoke, smiling gently at her younger sister. "No short cuts, remember?" Phoebe sighed, and nodded.

"Can…can I be alone for a little while, you guys?" She asked them all tentatively. One by one, they hugged her and left the room.

"We'll be right downstairs if you need us," Prue said quietly, closing the door behind her. Phoebe lay down on her bed and stared at the ceiling.

Paige sniffed loudly, trying vainly to stem the flow from her running nose as the tears continued to spill down her cheeks. She knew she was a complete mess, but she didn't care. Behind her was a beautiful California sunset, which she did not see. Eyes closed, Paige pressed her face into the cool grass. _Sometimes it really sucks to be an orphan_, she thought. Her hand resting on the rough stone of the grave marker behind her head, Paige finally looked up at the sky. The sun was red, just like it was the night when Phoebe made love to her for the first time. When they gave each other their hearts. Paige felt an ache like her heart was in a vice, being squeezed to the point of actual, physical pain.

"What do I do, Mom?" Paige whispered to the sky. "God, I wish you were here right now." She knew that Phoebe had been about to apologize when she orbed out…she could've stopped herself. But she was scared. And hurt. Hearing that viciousness in Phoebe's voice, it hurt so much…she just didn't think she could stand it again, and she was afraid to go back now. _Of course, I can't stay out here all night_, Paige thought to herself, shivering slightly in the cool evening air. _I guess I should go back to the dorms_, she concluded with a sigh. She had barely gone back to her college housing in the past few months, almost all her time outside school being spent with Phoebe, at the manor. She had begun to think of Phoebe's home as her home, too, and the loss of that family hurt almost as much as the loss of Phoebe inside her. She had sensed it the moment their connection had been broken; the ubiquitous feeling of Phoebe's love inside her had become a part of her internal landscape, like an ever-shifting weather pattern. Always moving, yet as constant as the sun. Now there was nothing. She knew Phoebe couldn't orb after her; what she didn't know, was whether or not she wanted to. She did know that she _wanted_ her to want to.

_This is giving me a headache_, Paige thought as she wiped the tears from her eyes. A moment later, she felt a tingling warmth as someone orbed in beside her.

"Phoebe," she gasped, sitting up so quickly she got dizzy. "Oh…head rush…" Paige put her hand to her forehead as she saw, not Phoebe, but Leo beside her on the grass. "What are you doing here, Leo?"

"I know I probably shouldn't have come," Leo began sheepishly, but he never got to finish as Paige threw her arms around his neck, burying her face in his collar. "Or maybe I should," he amended. Paige said nothing, but sniffled loudly. Leo patted her back awkwardly. "I, um, just thought you should know, that Phoebe's looking for you. To apologize. If you want her to find you, I can help. If not, that's okay too."

"I want," Paige said huskily, looking up from Leo's now tearstained shirt. Smiling, Leo nodded. A moment later, Paige felt more orbs at her back. Then Leo disappeared. Paige could feel Phoebe's presence behind her…she wanted nothing more than to turn and throw herself into her girlfriend's arms, but fear held her frozen on the ground.

"Paige?" Phoebe's voice sounded so fragile, like a lost little girl. "Baby…will you look at me?" When Paige still didn't turn, Phoebe walked quietly around the tombstone and kneeled down in front of her. The eyes that found hers were full of love and sorrow. "My sweet girl," Phoebe whispered, reaching out with trembling fingers to touch Paige's tearstained face. "I'm sorry, Paige. I am so, so sorry." Paige didn't speak—she couldn't—but she leaned into Phoebe's hand, rubbing her face against the warmth of Phoebe's fingers. "If you'll forgive me, I promise never to act like a jealous asshole again." Paige smiled as Phoebe gently wiped away her tears.

"I guess a _little_ jealousy isn't such a bad thing…" Paige finally said when she found her voice. "I mean, I kind of like the idea of you completely losing your mind over the thought of anyone else touching me." She was grinning impishly now.

"Oh, my mind was completely lost," Phoebe agreed, grinning back as relief began to flood through her. "That was, like, cave-Phoebe or something. I never knew I could be so idiotic."

"Well, as long as we agree on the idiot factor…" Paige put her hand over Phoebe's, feeling the pain in her chest recede as Phoebe's soothing warmth flowed through her, as familiar and unique as the scent of her hair.

"Oh, there is complete agreement on the idiot issue. Me, the queen of all idiots. Let it be marked in all the history books that on this date, Phoebe Halliwell became the new holder of the title." Paige giggled, leaning in to rest her forehead against her girlfriend's.

"I forgive you, babe," she whispered. The absolution was sealed with the tenderest of kisses. Which was quickly followed by another…and another.

"That was…our first fight," Phoebe murmured when they finally came up for air.

"Mmmm," Paige agreed. "Time for…" She was interrupted by another kiss. "Make-up sex?" Phoebe said nothing, but pushed Paige down into the soft grass, kissing her hard.

"Whoa!" Paige squealed, sitting up quickly, her hands on Phoebe's shoulders. "Not in front of my mom, Pheebs!"

"Oh…" Phoebe glanced at the headstone. "Oops. Sorry about that, Mrs. Matthews." They grinned at each other. "Wanna go home now, baby?" Paige nodded. They were about to orb out, when both sensed a powerful blast of magic around them; one that felt oddly familiar.

"Phoebe, Paige. _The Children of the Light_. You don't know how hard it's been to track you two down." The voice belonged to a woman in long white robes, her dark hair in two long braids that reached halfway down her back. A bow and a quiver of arrows were over her shoulder, and on her head was a golden crown carrying the symbol of a crescent moon.

"Who…who are you?" Phoebe gasped.

"Don't you know me, Phoebe? I've been watching over you both for quite some time." The woman was smiling down on the two of them with an expression that could only be described as radiance.

"Phoebe…" Paige whispered, gripping her hand tightly. "I think that's Artemis."


	4. Oh My Goddess

**Godsmacked**—Chapter 4

By **JewWitch**

All the Usual Disclaimers Apply

**Rating note**: Though I have given this story an overall rating of T, this chapter is rated M. Be warned!

Notes:

**Power of 4**—I agree, Prue totally needs (and deserves) a booty call, and it will happen—as soon as I can manage to get these stubborn people to get over themselves already! (They don't always want to do what I tell them…)

**Paige Halliwell**—just for the record, if Rose _had_ been around when Charmed first started, she would've been just as much of a reason for me to watch as Alyssa. I absolutely adore her (could ya tell?) Not only is she drop-dead gorgeous, but she is a completely kick-ass actress with a classical training in 90's indie film, which, as far as I am concerned, was the golden age of independent film. And, I think she plays Paige's character perfectly. I'd be hard pressed to choose between Paige and Phoebe…luckily, I don't have to! ;)

Chapter 4 

Phoebe let out a long, liquid sigh as the morning light drew her out of her slumber. She stretched lazily against her girlfriend's naked body, soaking up the delicious sensations of waking up next to Paige. Her body was so warm when she slept, like a puppy. Eyes still closed, Phoebe nuzzled the soft skin of Paige's neck, breathing in her familiar scent. Her lips formed a smile against smooth skin as she felt the vibration of a soft sigh of pleasure coming from her still sleeping girlfriend. Opening her eyes at last, Phoebe's grin turned wicked. She loved the small sounds Paige made when she was getting turned on; and when she was asleep, the breathy moans and whimpers were even more intoxicating. _So innocent_, Phoebe thought as she looked down at the sleeping face below her. How could Paige look so incredibly young and childlike, and so damn hot and sexy at the same time? Phoebe's pulse began to race as another soft moan came from Paige, who shifted slightly under the teasing fingers grazing over her arm. She loved waking Paige up this way; it had become a game, to see how long she could touch and tease her girlfriend before she woke up. She enjoyed this even more than the mornings she found herself awakened in the same manner, with Paige grinning over her.

Phoebe's wandering fingers finally trailed from Paige's arm, to her perfect breasts. Her touch was feather-light, but even this whisper of sensation caused a reaction, as Paige's back arched involuntarily, and another long, low sigh almost caused Phoebe to lose her head completely and ravage Paige on the spot. But no, she reminded herself; _slow_. Paige liked it slow. And anything Paige liked, Phoebe liked to do to her.

Curling up against the sleeping girl's side, Phoebe gently began running her foot up and down Paige's leg, grazing her with her toes. At the same time, she continued to tease Paige's sensitive breasts with the flat of her palm, watching in fascination as the rosy nipple hardened under her light touch.

"Ohhhhh…" Paige moaned loudly, arching up again, an adorable frown quirking her face when she met empty air. "Phoebe," she murmured, beginning to squirm as her breathing quickened, and a faint pink flush rose in her pale face. Phoebe felt her own breathing speeding up, too, as her pulse began to throb between her legs. Good Goddess! Paige was better than any drug on the planet. Phoebe leaned down and began to nuzzle her girlfriend's sensitive breasts, brushing ever so lightly over the incomparably soft skin with her lips and teeth. The hand she wasn't leaning on was busy drawing teasing circles around Paige's bellybutton. This time, when Paige arched up against her with a throaty cry of pleasure, she was rewarded with more contact with the warm body above her. Glancing up, Phoebe saw Paige's eyes fluttering; she was teetering on the edge between sleep and awakening, and Phoebe was determined to make the transition as pleasurable as possible. Snaking out her tongue, Phoebe licked Paige's nipple hard, then began to nibble on it like candy. Her hand grazed down from the sweet little bellybutton to tease Paige's inner thighs, hot and slick with her arousal. Paige shrieked in ecstasy, her hand snaking into Phoebe's hair as her eyes finally opened in a daze.

"Oh, Jesus, Phoebe…" she gasped, followed by what sounded for all the world like a cat's meow. Phoebe looked up from her girlfriend's delicious breasts, an expression of almost primal hunger in her dark eyes.

"You are so fucking beautiful, baby," Phoebe growled, laying fully on top of Paige's long, lean body to kiss her passionately. They both groaned appreciatively at the sensation of skin on skin, bare stomach to bare stomach.

"Please, Phoebe, please," Paige whimpered, writhing helplessly under the small, surprisingly strong body above her.

"I love you, Paige," Phoebe whispered. She felt her head bump against the ceiling as her hand dipped between Paige's legs.

When the pair finally found their way down to breakfast, they both had big, goofy smiles plastered to their faces. They walked into the kitchen hand in hand, and after getting their coffee, Phoebe crawled into Paige's lap and began playing with her hair.

"It's nice to see you two getting along again," Piper remarked from the stove with a wry grin. She was scrambling a large pan of eggs, while Prue stood beside her cutting up a pineapple and several melons.

"Mmm-hmm," Phoebe murmured, lost in Paige's dark eyes. Paige was tracing patterns on Phoebe's thigh with her fingertips. Dawn looked across the table at them and smiled, relieved to see that the previous day's falling out had not been serious. She couldn't stand it when people fought, especially the people who kept her safe.

"Since you're both in such a good mood, why don't you tackle the dishes?" Prue asked innocently, gesturing toward the full sink.

"Uh-huh," Paige mumbled, her eyes still locked with Phoebe's. Then she blinked and shook her head slightly. "Wait…what?"

"Never mind," Prue laughed.

"So, everything back to normal with your powers now that you're all lovey-dovey again?" Piper asked as she tipped the large pile of scrambled eggs onto a serving plate.

"Our powers?" Phoebe blinked nervously at her girlfriend, who nodded encouragingly at her. "Well, it's funny you should mention that, Piper…" Everyone looked up in alarm. "No, it's okay, I didn't mean—our powers are fine," Phoebe assured the group, all whom visibly relaxed. "But the thing is, we might…all of us…be getting a lot more power very soon."

"Phoebe, what are you talking about?" Prue asked, eyes narrowing suspiciously.

"Well, last night, Paige and I got a visit from…um…Artemis."

"The Goddess?" Prue gaped.

"Yep, that's the one. She offered us, well all of us I mean, a deal."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Back it up a few steps for me here, sparky." Piper was looking back and forth between her sisters in confusion.

"She knew about the Glory situation," Paige offered, her fingers grazing unselfconsciously under the hem of Phoebe's tank top as she spoke. "All the gods do, apparently…and they want to help us. Only they're not supposed to, cause way back in ancient Greece the Elders passed a law that forbids direct contact between gods and mortals, cause every time it happened it was always such a mess. You know all those myths…the mortals always end up being turned into a cow or a peacock, or something."

"Oooh, I already don't like where this is going," Prue groaned.

"Well you're going to like it even less in a minute," Phoebe said apologetically, "cause they've found a way to break through and make contact through Paige and me. I guess Artemis has been watching over us…she's the one who gave us the power-sharing, and the ability to sense each other." Across the table, Willow and Tara shared a secret smile.

"Okay, so what do they want us to do?" Prue broke in, in her usual direct manner.

"They want to make us gods," Phoebe said quietly. This statement was met with stone cold silence.

"Not all of us," Paige quickly amended. "Just three, and each of those needs another one of us as a magical anchor. And, the god thing, it wouldn't be permanent—just long enough for us to combine our powers and destroy Glory."

"All right, angel-girl! Way to pull out the big guns!" Faith grinned, leaning against the doorway. "I am totally down for this. When do I get to open up a can of whoop-ass?"

"Sorry Faith," Paige smirked, not looking sorry at all. "Only witches can receive the powers of the gods…and they've already requested that Phoebe and her sister be the ones to carry the powers. Tara, Willow and I will be the anchors. That is," she broke off with a glance toward the two speechless witches, "if you guys are game."

"Of course we are!" Willow squealed, going very red in the face. Turning quickly to her girlfriend, she asked somewhat hesitantly, "we are, aren't we?"

"Yes," Tara said firmly, smiling her most assuring smile at her redheaded counterpart.

"Man, this blows chunks," Faith groused, going over to the table and serving herself a large helping of breakfast. "I don't see why I couldn't get my goddess on."


	5. Bring It On

Hello faithful readers!

I am so very sorry about the very long delay on this chapter. what can I say? these girls won't always cooperate with me...they are all so stubborn and pigheaded! anyway, here is chapter 5, with the climactic conclusion on the way!

--JW

Godsmacked

Chapter 5

By JewWitch

That afternoon the manor was a flurry of activity, as the group of witches, slayers, and assorted demon fighters prepared feverishly for the arrival of three goddesses. The manor had to be cloaked from magical detection; neither Glory, nor the Elders, could know what they were doing until it was too late to stop it. Xander was busy blockading the doors, and giving the manor as much old-fashioned, hammer-and-nail protection as possible, aided by the slayers. Faith complained endlessly about her own marginal role in "Operation Godsmack" until Buffy reminded her none too gently that it had been her idea to let the witches take over in the first place. Upstairs, five witches and a half-whitelighter were busy writing the spells that would allow them to temporarily absorb the powers of the gods.

"I think it's almost ready," Tara said finally, adding a pinch of toadflax to the potion she was mixing. It gave a loud bang, accompanied by a large volume of thick white smoke. Tara squealed in alarm.

"That's okay, Tara," Prue assured her, "that's what always happens when our potions are finished…the bang just means it's ready. I've never seen quite so much smoke, before, though," she coughed. Piper flung open the large bay window as everyone fanned the smoke from their faces.

"Well, I don't think we've ever made a potion quite this strong before," Phoebe reasoned, putting the finishing touches on her spell. "There! I'm done."

"Me too," Paige announced brightly, capping the last of her own vials. "This needs to be kept somewhere safe till we're ready to de-goddess." With a wave of her hand, Paige orbed the vials into the wall. Willow's eyes were as wide as saucers; she still couldn't get over the amount of power she'd seen displayed since their arrival at the manor.

"Honey, close your mouth," Tara said gently, kissing her flabbergasted girlfriend lightly on the lips. Willow grinned sheepishly.

"So, I guess we're all, um, ready?" Willow said hesitantly, looking around the room at five extremely determined faces.

"Looks like," Prue agreed. "Once we've got our powers, it won't be long before Glory senses us; we can't cloak that much magic for very long. So we won't have much of a chance to practice our new powers."

"Got it covered, Mama Witch," Paige said with a wink. "Willow, Tara and I will be up here channeling all our magic to focus and ground you."

"Are we absolutely, positively sure this is safe?" Phoebe asked for the hundredth time. "Cause the last time you channeled for me, I nearly lost you." She wound her arms protectively around Paige's neck as she spoke.

"That was different, baby," Paige reasoned, running one hand reassuringly up Phoebe's back. "That was dark magic; channeling white magic isn't gonna make me sick. We'll just be amplifying your own, real witchcraft, to keep your humanity grounded so you don't lose yourself in the gods' powers."

"Promise you'll be okay?" Phoebe asked seriously, her voice quavering slightly. "I couldn't stand to watch you throwing up electrical currents again."

"You threw up electricity?" Willow squeaked, her face rapidly draining of color.

"I promise, Pheebs. I'll be fine. We'll _all _be fine." It was hollow promise and they all knew it; yet it was one they all needed to hear to fortify themselves for the battle that lay ahead. The gravity of Paige's words were still hanging in midair when Faith burst through the door impatiently.

"Everybody ready to rock up here, or what?"

Five minutes later, the entire group had reconvened in the kitchen, where Prue went over "Operation Godsmack" one final time.

"So everyone is clear on their positions?" She asked, her ice blue gaze traveling around the room with a quiet intensity that the Scoobies found just as commanding as Buffy's "slayer face."

"No," Faith said from the corner, scratching her chin with an exaggeratedly thoughtful expression. "Can you explain to me again, the part where I'm hiding in the basement like a whiny little punk?"

"God damn it, Faith!" Prue growled, nostrils flaring like an angry jungle cat about to pounce. Faith glared back, looking equally feral. "How many times do we have to tell you, that if we fail, we _need_ you to protect Dawn and the others! Not to mention, reality as we know it!"

"Still sounds like a fancy way of saying _get out of the way_," Faith sneered. "Me and B should be helping you! We're action girls, not back up!"

"Listen up, little girl," Prue seethed, her voice dangerously quiet. "In a few hours, there is going to be a magical convergence in this house larger than a fucking A-bomb. It's going to take all six of us," she motioned to her sisters, Paige, Willow and Tara, "just to control it, never mind use it to destroy Glory before she destroys us, and the world as we know it. You think we're powerful witches now?" Prue narrowed her eyes, slamming Faith back against the wall. Faith stared back silently, for once without a quip ready to sling. "You don't wanna be in the same room with us when we get the powers of the gods. Got it?" Faith nodded, still staring back into Prue's blazing blue eyes. "Good. Now, the rest of you," Prue motioned to the group, "Get in position. Piper, Willow, you need to go upstairs and do the astral anchoring spell, so you'll be connected when the power transfer happens. Phoebe, Paige, you too. Tara, you come with me."

"Wait," Dawn called nervously as the witches all moved toward the stairs. "How long is this gonna take? Will we be safe down here till you get back?"

"Don't worry, Dawnie," Buffy assured her anxious sister. "Faith and I are still here to be your personal body-guards…right, tough stuff?" She winked at her dark-haired counterpart.

"You know it, B," Faith agreed with her trademark cocky swagger. "It's gonna be five by five, half pint." Dawn nodded, swallowing nervously. She glanced automatically to Phoebe for reassurance, as she'd been doing regularly since being rescued from Glory's clutches.

"Tell you what," Phoebe said slowly, grinning reassuringly at the uneasy teen. "How about if I come down and add a little extra oomph to that protection spell before we start?" Dawn nodded vigorously.

"Okay then." Phoebe escorted the non-magical contingency downstairs, while Paige and the rest of the witches went upstairs to begin their final preparations. When Phoebe finally returned to her room, she found Paige towel-drying her hair, wearing one of Phoebe's tank tops and a pair of flannel pajama pants.

"Ooooh," Phoebe sighed happily, cuddling up to her minty-fresh girlfriend and burying her face in the damp, coconut-scented locks of her hair. "Hi there," she purred.

"Phoebe," Paige groaned, trying very hard to resist the lips nuzzling her throat. "This is hardly the time for…ohhh…I mean, _no!"_ She jumped back, biting her lip as she felt her cheeks flush. "We kinda got more important stuff going on right now…remember?"

"Yeaaah," Phoebe drawled, clasping her hands behind her back and digging her toe into the floor, looking up at Paige with big, pouty brown eyes. "But you know, there's more than one way to perform an astral anchoring…especially for people who already have an intense, um, _physical_ connection."

"You don't say?" Paige deadpanned, moving into her girlfriend's arms.

"I _do_ say," Phoebe insisted seriously, immediately rubbing her face back into Paige's damp hair. She gave a long, low sigh of pleasure. "Your hair feels so good when it's wet," she purred, breathing in Paige's shower-fresh scent.

"Oh, please," Paige sniggered. "Is there _any_ way my hair could be that you wouldn't like?"

"Hmmmm…" Phoebe mused, nipping Paige's throat and delighting in the soft gasp her teeth elicited. "Now that you mention it…nope." Phoebe backed Paige up against the bed, and they both flopped down eagerly onto the mattress. One long, intense kiss melted into another. Neither of them noticed the brilliant golden light glowing from the crystals set in a circle around them. As always when the two of them were alone together, Paige and Phoebe only had eyes for each other.


	6. Conclusion Part I

Dear readers,

Once again I must apologize for the long wait on the final installment of my story. Two weeks ago I got a call from my very good friend who was in the middle of leaving her abusive boyfriend; she told me he had just hit her in front of their 2 year-old baby (my godson). So I did what any red-blooded American girl would do—I drove 2 hours to their house in the middle of the night, picked the two of them up, and drove us somewhere I knew the son of a bitch wouldn't find us. Lucky for me, my family has a cozy little beach house in Maine, so we made it into a vacation rather than an exile. So basically, I've been co-parenting full-time for the past two weeks, which has been an amazing gift. I think I have a better sense now of what parenthood will be like than I ever had in all my years of babysitting! Even if there had been a computer at the beach house (which there wasn't), there's no way I would've had the energy to write anything— all either of us could manage after putting the baby to bed was painting each other's toenails and making margaritas ;) Anyway, it was an intense couple of weeks; now that I know they are safe and sound in their new apartment in Chicago, I can return to our previously scheduled programming. I hope that all of you, my faithful readers, will enjoy the two-part conclusion of Phoebe & Paige's latest adventure—part 1 is here; part 2 will be up on Saturday by midnight!

Godsmacked—Conclusion Part 1

By JewWitch

The manor was bathed in moonlight when the six witches reconvened in the attic, all having performed the astral anchoring spell, though not all of them with the same enthusiasm as Phoebe and Paige. They entered the attic last, both wearing a bright red blush and looking slightly abashed, as Prue had been forced to bang loudly on their door and yell at them to put their clothes on and get upstairs, an hour after everyone else had finished their spells.

"Everyone ready?" Piper asked, and five determined faces nodded. "Okay then." Piper and Prue lit the five candles circling the Book of Shadows, and Prue nodded to Phoebe and Paige as they all clasped hands. Phoebe gulped, glancing at Paige. After only a moment's hesitation, they began to recite the summoning spell that Artemis had given them.

"Goddesses of ancient times, sun and sea, earth and vine, come to us who call you near, come to us and settle here." Almost before they had finished speaking, a dazzling white light filled the room, leaving behind three imposing figures draped in long, white robes.

_"The Children of Light,"_ The first figure spoke with a slight bow. "It is an honor to meet you at last." A river of long, blond hair spilled down her back, and her large, blue-green eyes glinted benevolently. Phoebe felt Paige's hand quiver slightly in her own.

"The honor is totally ours," Phoebe assured her in a rather squeaky voice. "Are you…I mean…"

"Aphrodite," The blond-haired goddess bowed deeply. "The goddess of love. I have watched over all of you," she added serenely, sweeping her hand across the room, "and all of you have honored me by following the path of your hearts." Everyone grinned, as a rush of warmth flooded through them. Everyone except Prue.

"I am Demeter," The second goddess spoke, moving forward with a similar deep bow. "I am the goddess of the Earth, the seasons and the harvest." Her dark hair was similarly free flowing, and she carried a basket brimming with strange and succulent-looking fruits.

"And I am Artemis," intoned the last goddess, with a nod to the witches. "Of course, Paige and Phoebe know me already, but the rest of you do not. Though naturally I have been watching over you as well," she said to Willow and Tara. They both stared with mouths slightly agape. Aphrodite laughed out loud.

"Don't overwhelm them, sister," she chided gently. "It is as important to us that they succeed in their task as it is to the human world. The beast Glorificus cannot be allowed to return to her hell, lest all reality crumble in her wake. Her destruction must be eternal."

"Right," Prue said slowly, "That's why we've summoned you. The entire house has been magically cloaked, so the Elders won't know what we're up to, and hopefully Glory won't either. You'll be safe here until it's over."

"Are you prepared to take on the powers of the gods, my children?" Demeter asked, her penetrating gaze traveling over each of the Charmed Ones. "It is a burden no human has ever borne, one that may be beyond even your considerable powers to control."

"We're ready," Piper said in a quiet but firm voice.

"So mote it be," the goddess intoned, and just like that, another brilliant flash of light filled the room. A split-second later, Paige, Willow, and Tara were staring at not three, but six white-robed figures.

"Phoebe?" Paige gasped, her eyes wide as saucers as she stared at her serenely smiling girlfriend. She was still Phoebe, of course, but something more than her clothing had changed; aside from the fact that her honey-brown hair streamed down past her waist, her face seemed to glow as if light were pouring from under her skin. The golden harp in her hands was fairly conspicuous, as well. Paige could feel a huge amount of power surging through her, through both of them, magnified by their magical empathic connection and the astral anchoring spell.

"Wow," Phoebe murmured. Paige could smell rose petals on her breath.

"Did it work? It worked, didn't it?" Willow was glancing anxiously between an equally wide-eyed Tara, and another smiling, robed sister. Piper looked as serene as Phoebe; her freckled skin, too, seemed to radiate sunlight, and she held a tall golden scepter in one hand.

"Oh, it worked all right," Grinned Prue, who happily held her long silver bow out in front of her, pulling a matching silver arrow from the quiver over her shoulder and fitting in into the taut string.

"Prue!" Piper knocked the arrow from her sister's grip with surprising agility, considering how large and cumbersome her staff looked. "Are you insane? Don't load that thing in here!"

"What am I supposed to do, Piper, go to a shooting range?" Prue's nostrils flared like an angry thoroughbred, and her ice-blue eyes were the only ones showing agitation.

"Prudence," Artemis said gently, "You are the goddess of the hunt now—you need to focus that blood-lust, and turn it on Glory. If you are to succeed, you must remain perfectly attuned to your goal." Prue gave a grudging nod, though she looked slightly mutinous.

"I can sense her," Piper said suddenly, eyes distant. "Glory. Her presence on my beloved Earth is like a hoard of maggots in the temple offering. Come, my sisters." And with that, she vanished. Prue and Phoebe immediately followed.

"Hey!" Yelled Paige. "Where the hell do you think you're going?"

"Was that supposed to happen?" Willow squeaked.

"I think the power might be going to their heads," Tara said meekly.

"Gee, ya think?" Paige growled.

"Don't get pissy at me, Paige," Tara shot back with uncharacteristic bravado. "I'm trying to help you here."

"Sorry, Tar," Paige quickly apologized. "I'm just—Phoebe's power—it's just—it's so—"

"Intense?" Tara finished for her. Paige nodded.

"I know, I feel it too…" Suddenly Tara gasped, at the same moment that Willow clutched her stomach and toppled backwards. She would have fallen if not for Demeter's steadying arms.

"Owwww," Willow groaned. Paige looked at Tara, who was sweating and slightly green in the face.

"Guys? Are you okay?" She asked nervously.

"Uhhh…" Tara groaned. Paige was beginning to panic slightly, but before she could think of anything to do, the spell—or whatever it was—seemed to pass as quickly as it had arrived. Tara gingerly wiped the sweat from her brow, and with a slight shake of her head, quickly went to her girlfriend and wrapped her arms around her trembling shoulders.

"Honey, are you okay?"

"Uh, yeah, I think so…" Willow mumbled, rubbing her eyes. "What the frilly heck was that about?"

"Your charges have broken away from your anchoring," Aphrodite said, a note of worry in her voice that did nothing to calm the nervous witches. "It was as much for the sake of your ability to stay connected that you were all meant to stay within the confines of the manor, as it was for the sake of avoiding magical detection."

"How come nothing happened to Paige?" Tara asked, glancing at the completely unaffected girl beside her.

"Phoebe and I already had a pretty intense magical connection," Paige explained, unable to stop the blush that colored her cheeks as Willow and Tara's eyebrows shot up with a knowing look. "We can sense each other's emotions, and where the other is, all the time. Plus, the power sharing. It probably made the astral anchoring a lot stronger for us."

"Wait," Tara said quickly, holding up her hand. "You can sense where she is right now?" Paige nodded. "Well let's get orbing, then!"

"We can't just all leave," Willow squeaked in alarm. "We'll be leaving Dawnie and everyone completely unprotected! And the, um," she gestured to the temporarily mortal goddesses surrounding them. "Well, you guys too."

"But now that Phoebe, Prue and Piper have left the manor, their magic is gonna be screaming like a five-alarm fire!" Paige exclaimed urgently. "They're the ones Glory's gonna go for, not us. As long as they all stay here, they'll be magically cloaked, completely invisible. The sisters need us more."

"You are quite correct, my child," Artemis said gravely. "And I fear that without an anchor, Prudence and Piper will soon lose control of their godly powers. Without your intervention, they may indeed become more of a threat than Glory herself."

"Great. Well, this is going really well so far," Paige sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose in an effort to ward off the headache that was exploding behind her eyes. "Um, goddesses—" she looked around at the three visitors slightly awkwardly—"Would you please go downstairs, and tell our friends what's happening, and to stay put?"

"Of course," Artemis bowed deeply.

"Okay, then the three of us can—" Suddenly Paige's entire body went rigid. "Oh shit," she whispered. Without offering any explanation, she grabbed Willow and Tara's hands, and the three of them disappeared in a field of orbs.

When they re-materialized, the three witches found themselves back in Sunnydale, in Glory's lavish penthouse, amid a scene of utter chaos. Prue was beating the crap out of the bleached-blond hell god, while Piper and Phoebe fought off a seemingly endless flow of warty, troll-like minions, who were surprisingly strong and magically powerful for their size.

"Be gone from us, spawn of the Underworld!" Piper cried furiously, flinging a lightning bolt at two minions rushing at her while she held a third by the throat with one hand. She certainly seemed to have the upper hand, that is until three more jumped onto her back with an unholy shriek.

"For the honor of our goddess!" Cried another, thrusting a long, jagged blade with all his might into Phoebe's stomach.

"Hey!" Paige screamed. Even as the shriek fell from her lips, she knew Phoebe wasn't hurt. Indeed, the slimy little minion was so shocked when he pulled the blade back un-bloodied, that he didn't even notice Paige's presence. That suited her just fine, as she orbed the knife from his hand and sent it back at him at top speed. With a pitiful gurgle, the creature fell.

"Paige, what are you doing here?" Phoebe exclaimed angrily. "You're gonna get hurt!"

"What am _I_ doing here?" Paige asked incredulously. "What are _you_ doing here? You guys were supposed to stay in the manor!"

"Yeah, well tell that to Mother Earth and the blood-thirsty arrow-flinger," Phoebe said irritably, fighting off two more ugly, wart-encrusted minions. Before Paige could offer a suitable retort, rough arms grabbed her own and a cold blade was pressed against her throat. She leaned back automatically, taking pressure off the blade, with the unfortunate side effect that she was leaning directly into the foul breath of another maniacally giggling minion.

"Get your slimy troll-claws the hell off my girlfriend!" Phoebe yelled, and her brown eyes began to glow so brightly that Paige was forced to shut her own. Without warning, the creature gripping her exploded in flames, and released her with a shriek of agony before disintegrating into a cloud of dust.

"Wow," Paige squeaked, staring at Phoebe with a wildly inappropriate grin on her face. "I never knew you could be so butch, babe!" Phoebe shrugged, smiling shyly back.

"Nobody's ever tried to hurt you in front of me before," she said simply. They would both have stood there grinning at each other in the middle of the bloody battle far longer, had it not been for the ear-splitting howl coming from the place where Prue and Glory were struggling. The two goddesses were slumped against each other in mid-air, both with blank, shocked expressions on their faces. For one horrifying, agonizing moment, no one could tell who the scream had come from; it was clear that whoever had made the sound had been mortally wounded. Then Glory fell to the ground, dangling from a strange, bloody rope clutched in Prue's hand. Paige gasped when she realized that it wasn't a rope at all; it was Glory's intestines, stretching out from the gaping hole where her stomach should have been. Prue had gutted her.

"Prue…" Phoebe gasped breathlessly, her eyes wide with shock as she stared at her big sister, her arms dripping with blood, a feral look of satisfaction in her blazing blue eyes.

"The beast is dead," Prue said simply, her feet touching down lightly on the bloodstained carpet. She reached down and cut off a length of Glory's blood-splattered hair, and tied it around the strap holding her quiver of silver arrows. Her own white robes remained pristine, untouched by so much as a single drop of blood. "I must gather my followers for the new hunt." With that, Prue disappeared.

"Prue, wait!" Paige cried, stepping forward too late to grab the power-crazed girl.

"My children call to me," Piper said urgently from across the room, picking her way through dead minions to gaze longingly out the window to the woods below. "I must tend to them," said firmly, and before you could say double-trouble, she had vanished as well.

"Fuck me!" Paige groaned, slapping one hand over her eyes in disbelief. She was so distracted by the new problem of two demi-goddesses on the loose with little to no control of their powers, that she didn't even notice Phoebe's lack of response.

"Um, P-paige…" Tara stuttered, a note of barely contained panic in her voice. When Paige looked up, she saw that Phoebe's glowing skin now seemed to be positively pouring sunlight into the room; a warm breeze that came from nowhere lifted the long locks of her hair off her neck, flooding them all with the heady scent of rose petals once again. Her feet began to lift off the floor.

"Phoebe Penelope Halliwell, don't you dare move another inch!" Paige cried, a mixture of disbelief and desperation in her voice. Phoebe looked back at her with a pained expression, which was, at least, more than either Prue or Piper had offered.

"I have to go to my followers, Paige," Phoebe said serenely, golden light still spilling off her skin. "They are calling me; they need me."

_"I_ need you, Phoebe!" Paige exclaimed hotly, trying with all her might to hold Phoebe back with her astral anchor, but it was no use. The goddess' power was so much larger than anything she had ever felt; it was simply impossible to hold onto.

"Then come with me," Phoebe said with a smile, holding out her hand. Paige swallowed hard, feeling the pull of her girlfriend's intoxicating energy wafting over her. It was a bit like being knocked over by a huge wave, then sucked into the undertow.

"Paige, no!" Tara cried, grabbing her ex-girlfriend by the arm and shaking her very hard. Paige struggled, the magical connection backfiring. Now instead of her humanity grounding Phoebe's power, Phoebe's power was overwhelming them both. Tara could see that Paige was seriously disoriented by whatever magical tug-of-war was going on inside her; she hadn't even tried to orb out of the hands keeping her from her floating girlfriend.

"Sorry about this, Paige," Tara muttered, then smacked the struggling girl hard across the face. Paige staggered, then blinked up at Tara wide-eyed, rubbing the red handprint on her cheek.

"Ouch!" she cried indignantly. "What the hell did you do that for, Tar?" Tara pointed up at the floating Phoebe above them. "Oh," Paige groaned. "Pheebs, are you gonna come down now, or what?"

"I must go and release my love into the world," Phoebe said simply, still smiling with an expression of perfect serenity. "For it belongs to all who seek me."

"Phoebe—" Paige groaned, but it was too late-- Phoebe had vanished.

"What now?" Willow asked.

TO BE CONCLUDED—STAY TUNED FOR THE FINAL INSTALLMENT, COMING SATURDAY!


	7. Conclusion Part II

Dear Faithful Readers,

Well here it is, the long-awaited conclusion. Thank you all for reading and giving such awesome feedback and reviews, they make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I have noticed the recent discussion going on between y'all in the reviews, as to whether or not Phoebe and Paige are an appropriate pairing, and I just want to say thanx to those of you who have been sticking up for our girls. Obviously this pairing isn't for everyone—but no one's forcing you to read it. That's the beauty of fanfic, isn't it? It gives you the chance to say, "Wow, Alyssa Milano and Rose McGowan have such awesome chemistry, I wonder what it would be like if they were girlfriends instead of sisters?" And from there, you get to invent whole new worlds. There are plenty of stories out there with more conventional pairings, so if this isn't your cup of tea, by all means go find something more to your liking. Those of you who remain, please enjoy the final installment of Phoebe and Paige's adventure!

Godsmacked—Conclusion Part II

By JewWitch

Back at the manor, Paige was frantically scrying for Prue using one of the silver arrows left behind in the battle, while Willow and Tara tried to explain to the slayers their new problem.

"Well we're going with you," Buffy said simply upon hearing the news that one out-of-control goddess had been dealt with, with three more on the loose. "We don't know what Prue's capable of; I think now might be the time for some old-fashioned muscle. Besides, you guys have done enough already," she added to Willow and Tara. "I think you should stay her with Dawnie while Faith and I go with Paige."

"Buffy, Prue is still a good witch," Tara frowned, glancing at an agitated Paige out of the corner of her eye to see that she still hadn't managed to locate the eldest Halliwell. "She may not be able to control her powers, but she'd never do anything evil…not like Glory."

"Evil, no," Paige agreed, lines of frustration etched on her face as she swung the crystal over a large map of California. "But she's completely lost herself in her powers, and she's armed with a bottomless quiver of arrows and a whopping dose of righteous fury. Who knows what could happen?"

"Paige is quite correct," Artemis interjected gravely. "Mortal bodies, even those of powerful witches, were never meant to contain the powers of the gods. The longer our powers remain inside the Charmed Ones, the harder it will become for them to control themselves…eventually, they will go mad with power."

"And the fun just keeps on coming," Faith observed, cracking her knuckles restlessly.

"Why can't I find her?" Paige growled, throwing down the crystal angrily. The pull of Phoebe's magic was as strong as ever inside her, and it was becoming harder by the minute for Paige to ignore it and focus on finding her girlfriend's sisters. They had all agreed that Prue presented the most immediate danger, and finding her was their first priority; Paige reminded herself of this now, even as the magnetic sensation of Phoebe's heart calling out to hers threatened to pull Paige bodily from her seat. She had to force herself to actively suppress the urge to orb; it was rather like holding your breath when you have the hiccups, and Paige wasn't sure how much longer she could do it.

"Perhaps you need a larger map, child," Demeter suggested gently.

"What she needs is to go to her love," Aphrodite stated with a serene smile. "She calls you to her, does she not?"

"Yes," Paige groaned, squeezing her eyes shut and bending forward in her seat.

"Oh god, Paige, are you okay?" Tara asked anxiously, suddenly noticing the fine sheen of sweat coating Paige's pale face. "I should've known something like this would happen…you're still anchored to Phoebe, aren't you?" Paige nodded, too overcome with the astral tug-of-war to speak.

"Well what are you waiting for, angel-girl?" Faith asked, a rare expression of concern in her dark eyes. "Get outta here! Go get your girl."

"Can't," Paige panted, eyes still tightly shut. "Gotta get Prue…could hurt someone…"

"We'll get Prue, Paigey," Tara swore, rubbing the trembling girl's back gently. "Willow and I can scry for her, and we'll summon her the same way you summoned Artemis. Go get Phoebe; you're no good for anything else right now."

"'Kay," Paige nodded, with a deep, steadying breath. Without opening her eyes, she waved one hand and orbed the three vials of potion from the wall that she'd made earlier. She put one in her pocket, and Faith took the other two.

"Make sure Prue drinks the power-releasing potion," Paige ground out, finally opening her eyes. They were glowing with golden light, just as Phoebe's had while battling Glory's minions. "Piper too," she added.

"We promise," Faith said immediately. "Now get going." Almost before Faith had spoken, Paige orbed out.

The moment she rematerialized, Paige felt the force that had been squeezing her from the inside out suddenly release, and she gave a huge sigh of relief. She opened her eyes to find herself in the middle of a huge, stone temple, with columns wider than redwoods all along the open-air perimeter, and gigantic steps, three feet tall each, leading down to a picturesque landscape of rolling hills and olive groves below.

"Uh-oh…" she groaned.

Back in the manor, Prue was screaming bloody murder. She was trapped inside a crystal cage that Willow and Tara had set up before summoning her from a military base in Nevada, where she had obviously been gathering her new army.

"Release me, foolish mortals!" she shrieked again, throwing herself against the white-hot barrier of the cage.

"You're gonna regret that in the morning," Faith observed, cocksure as ever now that Prue was in her sights.

"Idiot child!" Prue fumed, eyes blazing. "Have you no idea who you are addressing? I am the goddess of the hunt, protector of righteousness! Release me or you and your disciples shall feel my wrath!"

"You're my disciples," Faith sniggered to her friends, none of whom seemed to share her amusement in their current situation.

"Prudence, you must calm yourself," Artemis said soothingly to the quivering girl inside the cage. "Remember the purpose you sought in taking on my powers; see that it has been fulfilled. You must release yourself before you are lost."

"You are a demon from Hades sent to trick me," Prue spat, eyeing Artemis without a hint of recognition. "The Underworld shall not know my powers! Go to your master and bay him abandon his futile quest!" Prue raised her hands and sent out a huge surge of white-hot energy, colliding with her cage and filling the room momentarily with an eruption of live electricity.

"Damn it, Prue, snap the fuck out of it!" Faith snarled, going right up to the edge of the cage and locking her large brown eyes with the ice blue ones across from her. "You are a good witch, and we need you on our side. You said you could handle this, remember? We trusted you. We _still_ trust you." For a moment no one said anything; Prue and Faith just stood there, breathing hard, staring each other down while everyone else stood as far away from the volatile girl in the cage as possible.

"I'm gonna let you out of this cage now," Faith said very quietly. "And then I'm gonna give you this," she held up the power-releasing potion that Paige had given her. "You'll be okay, Prue, I promise. Everything's gonna be five by five." Prue just stared at the small figure in front of her, the goddess and the mortal waging war inside her. Faith never looked away, never blinked.

"Do you trust me, Prue?" Faith asked softly, in the gentlest voice any of the assembled Scoobies had ever heard from the tough slayer. For several long moments, the room was filled with nothing but a buzzing silence. Then Prue nodded. Faith kneeled down, and picked up one of the crystals, breaking the magical containment field. Everyone held their breath, terrified of what the power-crazed demi-goddess might do. Faith alone looked calm as she held out her hand to Prue, the potion resting in her palm. Prue took it, finally breaking eye contact with the slayer to tip her head back, swallowing the contents of the vial. The moment she had done so, another brilliant flash of light erupted in the attic; when it was gone, Prue stood in the middle of the room wearing the same worn jeans and tank top she'd had on when the goddesses had first arrived. Artemis, smiling serenely between Dawn and Willow, had her golden crescent-moon crown back, as well as her quiver of silver arrows. Prue shivered, eyes wide with horror as her senses returned to her. Her blue eyes filled with tears.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, shaking her head as the impact of what she'd tried to do hit her. Faith was still standing in front of her, close enough to feel Prue's ragged breath as the tears spilled down her cheeks. "I'm so sorry…"

"Shhh," Faith murmured, putting out a hand and laying her fingers gently against Prue's lips. Then she leaned forward onto her tiptoes, wrapped both arms around Prue's neck, and kissed her. Willow clapped one hand over Dawn's eyes, but Dawn pulled it away, grinning as Prue and Faith floated several inches above the floor.

"Blessed be," Artemis intoned, bowing deeply to the group. Then the goddess disappeared.

Thousands of miles away, Paige stood staring, mouth slightly agape, as Phoebe reclined on a red velvet throne, surrounded by kneeling worshipers. Two young women stood on either side of her throne, fanning the goddess with large, ornate feather fans, while a muscular blond man wearing nothing but a loincloth sat at her feet, feeding her grapes.

"Hey, buddy, get your fingers out of my girlfriend's mouth!" Paige exclaimed indignantly, grabbing the devoted youth by one well-muscled arm and pulling him back away from Phoebe.

"Paige," Phoebe sighed happily, "I knew you'd come back to me."

"Don't you dare smile at me, missy! You are in _so_ much trouble." Paige glared, hands on her hips. "What the hell are you doing in the Parthenon?" She demanded.

"My followers have gathered," Phoebe said simply, still smiling at Paige without a care in the world. "Their only desire is to worship me."

"Phoebe, you are _not_ the goddess of love!" Paige shouted, her cheeks reddening as her frustration mounted. "This power is just a loaner, remember? You've gotta give it back to Aphrodite now!"

"Why are you troubled, my darling?" Phoebe asked, rising from her plush throne to caress Paige's face with gentle hands. "You needn't worry, love, I won't leave you behind when I ascend to Mount Olympus. I can make you immortal, Paige; we'll be together for all eternity."

"I don't _want_ to be immortal, Phoebe, and neither do you," Paige said desperately, angry tears welling up in her eyes. "This is not our life to live! You have a family waiting for you, a home, a whole city full of people who depend on you every day." Phoebe frowned, a cloudy expression passing over her eyes.

"You don't want to be with me anymore?" she asked slowly, looking up at Paige with a lost expression.

"Phoebe," Paige murmured, clasping both of Phoebe's small hands in her own, "I will _always_ want you. You're my whole world, baby, you know that. But I can't let you take us somewhere we don't belong." Releasing Phoebe's hands, Paige drew out the vial of potion from her pocket. "Let the power go back where it belongs, Pheebs. Then come home with me…where _you_ belong." Two pairs of dark brown eyes found each other, as Phoebe wound her fingers into Paige's black hair and kissed her. Paige felt as if she were being burned alive; the power surging through them seemed to boil over, pouring out of them in billowing clouds of shimmering steam. Phoebe gasped, and a few blood-red rose petals fell from her lips as she pulled back from the kiss. Glancing down, she realized she was back in her old clothes, her skin no longer glowing with immortality.

"Paige?" She asked hesitantly, looking back into her girlfriend's equally wide eyes. "What happened? I didn't take the…"

"You didn't need the potion, Phoebe," Aphrodite said, appearing beside her. Phoebe squealed in shock and leaped into Paige's arms. "You alone remained connected to your anchor," the goddess continued, motioning to Paige, who kept a firm hold on her trembling girlfriend. "All you had to do to reclaim your humanity was to make the choice…you chose Paige, and the balance was restored." The two shell-shocked lovers stood silently before the goddess, words failing them both. Aphrodite beamed at the pair of them.

"Truly, you are _the Children of Light_," she intoned respectfully, bowing deeply. "Your love does me great honor. Know that you will be held in the highest regard on Olympus, as will your children." Unable to speak, Phoebe and Paige simply gaped.

"Thank you for everything," Paige finally said, and Phoebe's hand squeezed hers gently in agreement.

"Blessed be," The goddess intoned, glowing with brilliant golden light before she vanished. Paige blinked, shaking her head slightly, before looking down to notice Phoebe staring at her, wide-eyed and smiling.

"What are you staring at?" She asked, a silly grin on her face.

"The most beautiful girl in the world," Phoebe replied simply.

"What a coincidence," Paige smirked. "Me too."

**Epilogue**

"So, Pheebs, are you ready for your last semester of college?" Prue asked lazily, eyes half-lidded in the bright sun as she lay on the large beach blanket, surrounded by her sisters and their friends.

"Sure I am," Phoebe sighed, her voice equally relaxed as she lay on her stomach with Paige rubbing coconut oil on her back. "You're ready, aren't you Paigey?"

"Absolutely," Paige agreed, sitting back on her heels to admire the smooth, shiny length of Phoebe's tanned back. "I wish I could get a tan like that," she sighed, pulling out her own bottle of SPF 30 from her beach bag.

"Tell me about it!" Prue agreed. "Every summer when we were kids, Piper and I would always end up getting burned to a crisp, while she gets so dark she looks like some kind of Sicilian princess!"

"Aw Prue, stop flattering me, it's cheap," Phoebe teased, smirking up at her porcelain-skinned sister.

"Ha ha," Prue sulked, sticking out her tongue. "The truth is, Paige looks a lot more like our sister than you do." She held out her arm against Paige's, so they could all see just how evenly matched their skin tone was, not to mention their idenical black hair and high cheekbones.

"Prue!" Phoebe squealed, sitting bolt upright and staring at her sister with a scandalized expression. "I'm a psych major, you can't just say things like that to me! Are you trying to give me a complex?"

"Huh?" Prue gazed blankly at the agitated face of her youngest sister.

"Ignore her," Paige said blithely, "We just read _Totem and Taboo_ in class last week."

"What's _Totem and Taboo_?" Piper asked from across the blanket.

"Just Freud at his most twisted," Paige said dismissively. "But it wigged Pheebs out a little. You know how first-year med students always get all freaked out every time they study a new disease, and think they have it?"

"Yeah," Piper nodded.

"Well, psych students can be the same way," she grinned affectionately at Phoebe and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. Phoebe frowned and grumbled something under her breath about always being patronized.

"Pheebs, I never thought I'd be saying this, but you need to loosen up," Prue laughed.

"Oh yeah?" Phoebe challenged, her eyes glinting mischievously. "So I guess it wouldn't bother you if I were to sit here," she crawled across the blanket and stretched out next to Faith, "And point out certain similarities between me and your girlfriend?" Phoebe held her arm out next to Faith's; everyone couldn't help but notice how perfectly identical their dark olive skin was, as well as their matching height, chestnut brown hair and large brown eyes.

"Okay, okay, you've made your point," Prue winced. "Now I'm all grossed out. Thanks a lot, Pheebs." Phoebe smirked, with a serves-you-right-for-messing-with-me look in her eyes as she crawled back to Paige, curling up happily against her girlfriend's sun-warmed side.

"Forget about it, babe," Faith said airily, trailing her fingers teasingly over Prue's bare stomach. "I've always said book smarts will just confuse you…I know just how to clear your mind."

"You do, huh?" Prue smirked, as a flush rose in her cheeks that had nothing to do with the hot sun overhead.

"Oh yeah," Faith growled, leaning down so her long hair trailed over Prue's collarbone, and kissing her soundly.

"Can you two stop snogging each other for five damn minutes?" Piper groaned, burying her face against Leo's shoulder. "I can only take so much, you know!"

_"Snogging?" _Phoebe repeated with a snicker. "You've been reading the new Harry Potter again, haven't you, Piper?"

"It's just so unfair!" Piper cried, lifting her head from her husband's strong shoulder. "I can't believe Ron and Hermione still haven't gotten together! What are they waiting for?"

"Aw, well, they had to save something really juicy for the last book, didn't they?" Willow pointed out.

"Piper's not known for her patience," Phoebe giggled, trailing her fingers absently up and down Paige's arm. Suddenly Paige got to her feet, pulling Phoebe with her.

"Wanna go for a walk, baby?"

"'Kay," Phoebe nodded, dismissing the wisp of tension she felt in her stomach as she reached for Paige's hand. They left their family laughing and bickering gently on the blanket, walking in silence for several minutes. Neither felt the need to talk; they simply basked in each other's presence, their interlocked fingers teasing each other's hands lightly until they both had goosebumps running up the back of their necks. Eventually, they came to the edge of a large cliff face; once around it, they found themselves quite alone in a deserted cove. Phoebe grinned.

"Why Miss Matthews," she murmured coyly, "are you trying to seduce me?"

"I have to try now?" Paige teased, giggling as she kissed Phoebe's sun-warmed lips. The salty tang of ocean air mixed with the sweetness of their kisses, pushing them both quickly into a state of intense arousal. Phoebe's teeth grazed Paige's bottom lip, which always drove her crazy, but this time instead of deepening the kiss, Paige broke away.

"Wait," she panted.

"What's wrong, babe?" Phoebe asked, cocking her head in confusion. "Do I have bad breath or something?"

"No, silly, you know you always taste good," Paige grinned reassuringly, though her eyes glinted nervously in the light of the afternoon sun.

"Then what?" Phoebe asked curiously.

"Well," Paige began, looking down at her sandy toes, "I was gonna save this for after graduation, but…after everything that's happened…waiting seemed kinda stupid." She looked up from beneath her long lashes, grinning shyly at a wide-eyed Phoebe. Holding out her hand, palm up, Paige said, "Ring." A gold engagement ring orbed into her hand, shimmering brightly in the light of the blazing sun overhead.

"Oh my goddess…" Phoebe whispered, her wide brown eyes filling instantly with tears.

"Phoebe," Paige said softly, fighting back the quaver that was rising in her voice, "Every morning that I wake up next to you, I know I'm the luckiest girl in the world…" She swallowed hard as a tear slipped down her cheek. "I can't even imagine the rest of my life without you, without feeling you here." She took Phoebe's hand and held it to her heart, "Guiding me, loving me, keeping me safe. As long as we're both on this earth, I know I'm never gonna be alone again…I love you, baby, more than my own life." The tears now pouring down Phoebe's face did nothing to diminish the beautiful glow of her huge, beaming smile.

"Phoebe Halliwell," Paige said firmly, "Will you marry me?"

_"Yes!"_ Phoebe sobbed, grabbing Paige's face with both hands and kissing her until they were both breathless. When they finally broke apart, Paige took Phoebe's hand and gently slipped the ring onto her finger. Incongruously, they both burst out laughing.

"We don't have to move to Massachusetts now, do we?" Phoebe asked, grinning.

"No baby," Paige laughed, "I think we're already exactly where we're supposed to be."

THE END


	8. author's notes & teaser

Hi Everybody!

Firstly, I wanted to say THANK YOU to all my faithful readers and reviewers. You guys rule! Thank you for all your kind words and enthusiasm. Y'all rock my teenage party world!

**Princess Pinky**, don't worry, I'm not insulted that you can't see Prue with Faith—I understand how it is when you have a thing about two characters not being paired with anyone else. (Like, even though I gave Piper a spicy past for the purposes of the story, I would never pair her with anyone but Leo in the present). Personally, I never saw much chemistry between Prue and Andy, but that's probably at least in part because Shannen Dorhety, along with Alyssa Milano, was one of my first big childhood crushes (anyone remember _Heathers_?), and it's just too much fun to put them in my little dykey playground to see what happens!

So…. Here comes a big ol' TEASER for Volume III of Phoebe & Paige's saga, tentatively titled _The Incredibly True Adventures of Two Witches in Love_ (bonus points if you remember the classic 90's lesbo-riffic indie flick I am ripping off!) Without giving too much away, I will say this…you didn't REALLY think Cole was gonna let Phoebe go and marry someone else without a fight, did you?

…coming this weekend!


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Charmed, Adventure, Romance